n nWhen nineteen-year-old Alafair Sizemore Slone journeys to Chemame Creek, West Virginia to join her husband, Travis, in the coal camp where hes working, she carries with her a history of loss and the hope of a secure future. She knows that making a home in a coal camp will be difficult and different from life on her familys farm in Washington County, Virginia; but shes certain that she and Travis are equal to any challenge that will come their way.n n nn nTravis, however, has changed during the four weeks theyve been apart. He goes out after supper and stays out late. He no longer talks about buying a small farm of their own, preferring to spend money as quickly as he earns it. When a mine accident leaves Travis injured with no income and no savings, Alafair is coerced into a decision that will affect her life, her marriage, and the lives of other women in Chemame Creek forever.n n nn nBased upon oral histories from women who lived in West Virginias coal camps during the 1920s and their descendants, The Price of Bread and Shoes examines a controversial piece of West Virginia history through the lens of fiction.n